


Asshole

by Justybean



Series: The Great Return [1]
Category: The Defenders (Marvel TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Slight spoilers, Typical Jessica Snark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-06
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2019-01-09 22:55:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12285957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Justybean/pseuds/Justybean
Summary: The swelling in Matthew’s cheek had gone down in the last couple of weeks, but Jessica Jones left a real deep mark when she wanted to.





	Asshole

**Author's Note:**

> These two jerks brought me out of my several years long writing hiatus. That's how much I love them and just want good things to happen to them. I figured I should contribute since this is a smaller ship than I am usually part of.
> 
> The idea was born from art I'm having commissioned right now, which is of the last scene of them together. I'm very excited for it to be finished!
> 
> It's been a while and I'm working without a Beta, so please be gentle. All constructive criticism is welcome!
> 
> Maybe I should do an AU next. I find sticking to The Defenders cannon a bit limiting.

The swelling in Matthew’s cheek had gone down in the last couple of weeks, but Jessica Jones left a real deep mark when she wanted to. 

 

Stretched out on his sofa in full Daredevil gear minus the helmet with his head in Jessica’s lap was not a place Matt ever expected he would be, before or after his ‘death’. And yet here he was, more comfortable than he had been in a long, long time despite the still throbbing in his cheek. He didn’t complain about it though, she’d only tell him once again that he had deserved it.

 

\--

 

He had been sitting in her office waiting for her to return from whatever it was she was doing these days without The Defenders. There had been reports in the papers about Danny Rand showing up places he really shouldn’t and of Luke Cage returning to protect Harlem, but nothing about the team’s resident PI. To be fair, she hadn’t wanted to be on the team in the first place, so it was no real surprise that she wasn’t working with them now.

 

Matt heard her coming from blocks away, giving himself time to prepare for her arrival. It also gave time for his anxiety to build up about this reunion. She was going to be mad. Furious. And he was well aware what happened when Jessica was angry. Still, he knew she had to be the first one he visited as soon as he was strong enough and not just because of her temper. It hadn’t felt...right...going to any of the other’s first. It had to be Jessica. The nuns had nursed him back to health, but it had taken months. Enhanced healing hadn’t been one of the power’s he was blessed with.

 

Closer and closer she came to her building until she was finally downstairs and at the elevator. Matt shifted uncomfortable in the client’s chair he had borrowed in front of her desk. Sitting behind it had seemed too….personal. She was in the elevator, going up, up, up. And at last, she stepped out onto her floor. Matthew let out one more calming breath. No backing out now.

 

She let out a long huff at her door - which he had left open - and pushed it open while yelling at someone named Malcom to stop letting himself in. Matt assumed Malcom was one of her neighbours, perhaps the young man watching TV in the suite over. The words died on her lips when she realized it wasn’t him sitting in the room. Matt stood up, giving his best apologetic look. 

 

Before he could say a single word she was across the room, decking him hard in the face. He slammed back down into his seat, which slid backwards a few feet from the force. That had been expected, but no less painful. Still, he could tell that was nowhere near her full force. Jessica had pulled her punch, even while angry.

 

He had sensed it, like he did any attack, and could have dodged it - but he knew it was better to just accept it. And a small part of him truly believed he deserved it for what he had done. It was the Catholic in him.

 

“You asshole!” She snapped. He could feel the anger radiating off her. He could see her body practically vibrating with it. Even like this, it was so good to see her again. Just being around her was settling his nerves, even after the attack. Matt reached up to feel his lip, which was split open and bleeding. His cheek was already swelling. Jessica stomped out of the room and into the next - her kitchen - where he could hear her digging around in the cupboards. Bottles clicked together before she found what she was looking for. Matthew could smell the cheap whiskey from here.

 

He should probably say something. He knew that. Yet all his planned words had flown out of his head the moment he saw her. And then again when she hit him. He was pretty sure anything he said was just going to piss her off more.

 

But still, he had to try and explain. He had to try and make this better.

 

“I’m sorry, Jessica, I-”

 

“Don’t.” She cut him off immediately after a long swig straight from her bottle. It made her body relax just slightly, which he supposed was a good thing. “Don’t come in here with your shitty excuses. You left m….us. You let yourself die down there.” She looked him up and down and scoffed. “Or, not die. Whatever.”

 

Matthew chuckled just a bit, which didn’t make her any angrier. That was good. They had shared a similar sense of humor, even if she was determined not to laugh at his joke upon their first meeting. Fairly certain she wasn’t going to hit him again, Matt stood up once more, leaning on his cane just slightly. “I did.” He finally said. The lack of excuse seemed to please her for a moment before she crossed the room again, her heavy boots making a ridiculous amount of noise. Faintly Matt noted that even if he didn’t have heightened senses, he was sure he could hear her coming from a mile away. He tensed himself up for another blow but instead she went around him to the back of her desk. She dug in one of the drawers for a moment and he could tell she was bringing out a first aid kit before it left the confines of the wooden box it rested in.

 

“It’s fine.” He started, hand coming to his face again. She tossed it down on the desk anyways and slammed the drawer shut. 

 

“I didn’t say it was for you. Hurt my knuckles on your face.” Matt could tell that wasn’t true. There was no cut or bruise or broken bone. The worst it could be was a bit sore. Wisely, he kept his mouth shut. “You gonna tell me how the hell you’re alive?” She asked, sitting on the edge of her desk next to the kit.

 

Good. This was familiar territory. He had prepared for this question over and over while healing. It was one that was going to come up again and again as he reintroduced himself to the world. “Elektra pulled me out. It’s the last thing I remember before waking up with the nuns. Haven’t seen her since.” He shrugged, as if that didn’t bother him, but she was almost as good as him at reading people and saw through that in an instant. 

 

Jessica hummed as if considering that before downing a considerable amount of her Whisky. If Matt didn’t know her he might have been worried about how much she was consuming. She drummed her fingers on the bottle in thought. Each tap produced a different pitch, and Matthew focused on that while waiting for her response. Silence from her was never a good thing. When it got to be too much he cleared his throat to draw her attention again. 

 

“I really am sorry, Jessica. It was….stupid. And I shouldn’t have done it.”

 

Jessica scoffed, but he could tell the corner of her lip had pulled up into the tiniest ghost of a smirk. “Stupid is an understatement, Murdock.”

 

Matt chuckled and nodded, easily agreeing with her. There was still a lot of anger inside that small frame, but a decent amount of it had seeped out after his second apology. He was pretty sure there wouldn’t be any more punches thrown his way. Hopefully.

 

The first aid kit rattled as she picked it up again with another put out sigh. “Sit.” She ordered, nodding towards her desk. Matthew opened his mouth to argue but she pushed him back gently - well, gently for her - and he had no choice but to settle himself on the edge of the desk much like she had been. He folded up his cane and removed the glasses. Props he didn’t really need around her, but still felt connected to anyways.

 

She tipped his head up with one finger under his chin and bent in close to look at the cut on his lip. He let his unseeing eyes drift closed and just took the time to breath in her very distinctive scent. He could smell her from much further away, but there was something different about this. Something more intimate. She always had a faint hint of alcohol, but it was so much stronger now. She didn’t wear perfume so she never smelled fake. Just clean with a hint of lavender from  a scented shampoo.

 

She was perfunctory with her care. She wiped at the cut more roughly than Claire ever would have and put far more soothing gel on it than was necessary. But her fingers were warm and soft. They sent little electric zings though his skin that had nothing to do with his injuries. He could feel the copious amounts of gel going into his mouth, but said nothing. Not if it meant she would pull her hands back early. Besides, there were no toxic chemicals that he could smell to be worried about. It was better than being covered in blood anyways. There wasn’t much she could do for the swelling, so she just dumped an ice pack in his lap and closed up the kit. 

 

Clearly she lacked any sort of bedside manner and just wanted to get the job done. He wondered if this was how she patched herself up too. Or did Malcom do it? That thought made him frown, which captured her attention. “What, you got a problem with my work? Or is the ice pack too rough for your sensitive skin?” She reached for the pack to take it back, but Matthew quickly pulled it out of her reach, behind his own back. 

 

“No, no. It’s good. Thank you. It feels a lot better.” She said nothing for a moment before nodding. He took that as a sign that he was allowed to keep the pack. He cracked it and brought it up to his face. It was ridiculously rough, but the cold felt good. Jessica returned the rest of the kit to her drawer before slamming it shut.

 

“Whatever. You’re lucky Malcom keeps that thing stocked. Told him I didn’t really need it. I hate having to admit when I’m wrong.” He could feel her glaring at the side of his face like it was his fault he was sitting here with a split lip and a cheek that needed medical attention. Which she probably felt it was. 

 

“He look after you often?” He asked in a very practiced casual voice. 

 

“Unfortunately.” Done with playing doctor, Jessica picked her Whiskey bottle back up. She left him sitting on the desk, throwing herself into her chair behind it instead. He turned just slightly so he was at least half facing her.

 

Her legs came up and she rested her feet over the corner, a very comfortable position for her. Clearly she was in it often.

 

He processed that new information from her in silence. She seemed just as content to sit in the quiet for a few moments too, back to tapping her fingers on the bottle in between swallows. Despite her anger, Matt could tell she was comfortable sitting around him. A luxury Danny hadn’t managed to ear in their short time together - and yet he had. He didn’t know exactly how far that comfort would extend, so he would be careful not to push it too far too quick. 

 

“I came to you first, you know.” He finally said. He could hear her sharp intake at that admission, the bottle in her hands froze a few inches from her mouth. Karen and Foggy seemed like the most logical choices to go to first, and yet here he was. They’d only know each other for a couple of days, and they’d been rough to say the least - but a sort of bond had grown from that that he missed while recovering. 

 

He’d have told anyone that he figured coming to her first was a way of avoiding any extra violence from her anger at being kept in the dark longer than others, but that wasn’t it. Not really. He’d avoided thinking too hard about exactly why it was important for him to come here first, but he’d have to deal with that soon now that it was over and done with.

 

“Don’t think that’ll make me forgive you.” She finally said, finishing the motion of her drink. Matt chuckled, expecting nothing less.

 

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He smiled, big and bright and realer since he had ‘died’. It pulled at his lip, which he ignored. “I was hoping you’d help me get my place back. I doubt my landlord was able to rent it out this quickly, unless the sign is gone, and I’d prefer somewhere familiar.” It might take a bit of work, but it was worth it to have his safe space back.

 

“It’s still yours.” Jessica’s words cut through his plans, though he didn’t fully understand them at first.

 

“What?” He frowned, his brows furrowing in confusion.

 

“The apartment. Danny’s been paying for it since you di...since you left. We all thought it was stupid but hey, he’s got more than enough money to cover the rent for your shitty place for the rest of time.” 

 

That was...not what he had been expecting. Sure they had all worked together and been through a lot, but he didn’t think they had grown that close. And he was sure they would all be as pissed as Jessica. Which they probably were. Jessica just was more direct about it. He’s sure she would have gone and trashed the place, given the chance. 

 

“Well, that makes things easier.” He finally said. One less task. One less thing to worry about in his endless list of concerns. It had been easier compared to all the apologies he had to make. Matt rolled his shoulders, mentally preparing himself for that.

 

Jessica laughed, an actual real laugh that warmed Matthew’s core. There was no bitter hint to it. She was genuinely amused. He didn’t quite understand why, until she explained.

 

“Yeah, until you actually have to thank the guy. He’s a hugger.” Matthew smiled, both from the idea of having to hug it out with ‘The Iron Fist’ and just from Jessica’s amusement in general. If she could laugh like that with him and patch him up while still angry, maybe things would be okay. They could get back on track...whatever that track had been before he let a building fall on himself. He was more than interested in finding out what it was.

 

“Come on, Murdock. Let’s get you home so you can start making apologies. Watching you so uncomfortable might just make me feel a little bit better about all this.” Jessica stood, setting her bottle back down on the desk. It was almost empty, but he deemed it a win that she didn’t have to drink it all. She came around to his side, the crook of her arm held out for him to take.

 

How naturally she knew what to do after only leading him around a couple of times. He’d take her arm over his cane any day. 

 

\--

 

In the end he decided to do his re-appearing act to his friends in small groups. It took him a day to get prepared for it, giving himself just a bit of time to settle back into his home, but he couldn’t put it off any longer than that. And true to her word, Jessica had satisfaction rolling off her in waves from the corner of his apartment where she sat and watched it all happen. He’d be much happier about her enjoyment if it wasn’t coming at great personal cost to himself.

 

He started with Foggy and Karen. He was sure they weren’t going to be pleased that he hadn’t come to them first, but neither of them had been truly pleased with him in a long, long time. Not that he blamed them.

 

Foggy had clapped him on the shoulder and told him, “Good to see you again, buddy.” But Matt could hear the disappointment and sadness in his voice. He had a lot to repair between them again. But the statement rang true, and that was a blessing in itself. 

 

It would be far more selfish that Matt could ever be to expect Foggy to not be upset at his friends fake death. They had all mourned for him. Matt had done that to them.

 

“You too.” Matt returned in his gruff voice. He was surprised Jessica was able to keep her mouth shut with all this emotion going on. It wasn’t exactly her thing. This was him uncomfortable, just like she had wanted.

 

Karen hadn’t come close to him like Foggy. She remained several steps out of his living room - close to the front door he noted. He could tell she was crying, but wasn’t sure if he should comment on it or not. He knew this was going to be particularly hard for her. “Are you done now?” She finally asked him, her voice wavering only the slightest bit. She was so strong in so many ways.

 

Matt opened his mouth to answer her, but nothing came out. He didn’t have an answer to that  she’d like. That either of them would like. Logically he should hang up the costume now that the threat from The Hand was over. He should go back to being just Matthew Murdock, Attorney. And yet, he knew he couldn’t promise her or Foggy anything. He had last time and look where they were now. Matt shut his mouth again and tilted his head down just slightly. 

 

It wasn’t what she had wanted, but it was clear his nonverbal response was what she had expected. Karen shook her head, her hair cascading around her face as she moved. She smelt just like he remembered, though there was a stronger hint of paper ink now. Foggy had once tried to describe the exact shade of blonde that her hair was to him but he was sure the man hadn’t done it perfect justice. Briefly Matt wondered exactly what shade of hair Jessica had.

 

He could see so much with his abilities - but none of the important small details.

 

“Well, I’m glad you’re alive.” Karen finally said and Matt counted that as another win. They’d never be the same as they once were, but she didn’t wish he was actually dead. Small miracles.

 

“Aren’t we all.” Came from Jessica’s corner. Apparently they had reached the quota for acceptable amounts of emotion in one sitting.

 

She stood up with little grace and stomped around his apartment as if she belonged there. There was a lot more digging through his kitchen than her own until she finally located something suitable to drink. He’d never kept much on hand - not wanting to tempt himself with that sort of oblivion - but there were a few bottles tucked away for special occasions. Lucky for her, alcohol didn’t go bad.

 

She returned drink in hand, this time coming to the sofa where he sat, hip resting on the arm just a few inches from his body. Her warmth radiated through to him. He felt a bit of strength seep into his body that he had lost while talking to Karen. Perhaps she just had so much it was leaking out. Perhaps it was just her being there.

 

He was going to examine that thought later.

 

With Jessica standing right there the time for scolding and serious emotions was over. Perhaps that’s what she had meant to do - for him. She had come to his rescue. Matt smiled at nothing just thinking about that, pulling a raised eyebrow from Foggy. His friend knew him better than almost anyone, and had seen that look before.

 

Karen and Foggy sat on the chairs across from his sofa and after a brief description of what had happened after the building fell, the pair answered his questions about their own lives in the following months.

 

They were both doing well at their jobs which pleased Matt greatly. He knew that his death couldn’t have been easy for them, but it hadn’t thrown their lives into so much turmoil that it ruined other aspects of it. He hadn’t wanted to affect anyone that much. 

 

The conversation wasn’t what he’d call easy, but it did flow better than earlier. It helped that Jessica was standing there with her commandeered bottle, throwing in snarky remarks now and then.

 

Matt made a mental note to replace the drink and get a few more options stoked up. Just in case.

 

\--

 

The sit down with the rest of ‘The Defenders’ as the news had taken to calling them was much easier than the first one with Foggy and Karen. Not that they weren’t upset with him, oh they were. Especially Claire. But he didn’t have the extra layer of them hating his night work too, which made things a little less strained for him. Plus, Danny was the type to do something similar, so there was no real anger in him. It helped having just one person see his side.

 

Jessica sat in her usual corner, picking at her nails this time. He focused on that sound to keep him grounded and calm.

 

Just as she had said, Danny was a hugger. The man had rushed over and enveloped Matt in his arms. He could hear Jessica’s almost silent snicker from where she sat. This was probably what she had been looking forward to most. Neither of them had grown particularly close with Danny - though he irritated Jessica much more than him - so the intense contact was a bit strange for him. He smirked at Jessica’s amusement but quickly schooled his features as Danny let go and stepped back. He didn’t need to explain that particular look to the man.

 

Colleen also seemed less angry at him than anyone else, just calmly standing by Danny’s side as the man hugged him. Then again, she’d also known him the least out of anyone here. Both her and Danny respected the steps he had gone to eradicate their problem, even if they didn’t like having lost him. 

 

“You always gonna be this stupid?” Luke had asked him. Matt shrugged in response with a ‘kid caught in the cookie jar’ look on his face. The bigger man shook his head but patted him on the back. It hurt more than Foggy’s had. 

 

Claire remained back from the rest of the group, much like Karen had. She was another one that wasn’t going to be as quick to forgive. “It’s good to see you, Claire.” He finally said, breaking into her thoughts. His powers didn’t let him actually hear them, but from her temperature and heartbeat he could tell they weren’t good.

 

“It’s good to see you too.” She responded, her voice tight. “And in one piece, for once.” Her body language told him she was completely closed off, arms tightly crossed across her chest. He’d have to work on this as much as with Foggy and Karen, but she wasn’t outright dismissing him.

 

He really had to be quite thankful for how patient he friends were with him. Even when he had insisted he couldn’t have any - that they were a distraction - they had knocked sense into him and kept coming back. They had every right to walk away after what he had done, and here they were anyways.

 

They asked all the same questions about his death that Foggy and Karen had. How he had survived, where he had been. The usual. Matthew was going to absolutely hate this story by the time he was done all this.

 

Jessica had wandered over again once the high emotion stuff was done, this time settling down into the empty seat on the couch. She wasn’t touching him, but she felt so much closer like this than when she had been standing.

 

He thanked Danny for keeping his apartment for him, which the man waved off. “It seemed right.” He said with a shrug. No one commented on how his ‘right’ deed cost him a fair bit of money on a man that had been dead.

 

He was sure Jessica wanted to, but she kept her mouth shut for once.

 

Danny did want to discuss if they would all be fighting together again soon. He perked up like a child on christmas, his heartbeat going wild with excitement. 

 

Jessica was the first to scoff. “I told you before, I don’t work in teams.” 

 

Danny seemed undeterred, even with the lack of excitement in the room about his suggestion. Matt hadn’t thought a lot about what he was going to do about Daredevil since his return. He was far too busy making apologies and getting pieces of his life back. Now that he had a moment, he really had no idea what he was going to do. He didn’t have any active plans to return to his late night activities, but he did feel he needed to get another one of his suits made up. 

 

Just in case.

 

\--

 

After all that, things seemed to settle back down to some remnants of normal. He’d tried asking Jessica if she had fully forgiven him after watching him have to explain himself over and over, and she’d simply scoffed and given him a very pointed look that he couldn’t see, but could sure as hell fell. She never punched him again though, so they were going in the right direction.

 

There were times when she’d look in his direction and he could feel the desire within her to just snap her arm back and deck him again. He knew she was still angry about what he’d done and how long he’d been gone, but this seemed….different. And he couldn’t quite place why. Her heartbeat seemed to quicken sometimes when he was around, but other times it was completely normal. She was an enigma to him, despite the fact that they were spending a lot more time together.

 

Not to say that he was spending all his time with her. Matt had a life to get back to - a job, friends, hell even keeping his fridge properly stocked was turning out to be quite the task for himself. And she was taking cases, keeping her out on the streets a lot of the time.

 

Luke had told him one night that she hadn’t taken a case since his funeral. It was clear this was something he was not suppose to repeat to her. He locked it away in the box that was especially for figuring Jessica Jones out. It was a huge puzzle, one that she wasn’t making any easier, but he was willing to put the effort in.

 

He stopped by her place now and again, and she did the same to him. Neither one of them commented on the fact that they never used to ‘hang out’. They had gone to the home of the architect together, which had been nice other than their impending doom, but that had been for stopping The Hand. Not just to spend time together. Now though, she’d sit on his floor typing away at her laptop while he read braille on the cases Foggy had given him to get started again. He’d bring her coffee and breakfast treats now and again when she was at home, making sure she consumed something other than alcohol once in awhile. 

 

“What are you, my mother?” She had asked after the first couple of times, but had taken the offered food anyways.

 

He was pretty sure she hung around so much to keep him from disappearing again. Not that there was any way he could. Not now.

 

He’d met Malcom now too, who he had guessed right that first night. Her neighbour just one suite over who popped in whenever he felt like it, much to Jessica’s fake chagrin. Matt could tell she wasn’t actually irritated, and even without powers so could Malcom. Maybe that’s why he kept coming back anyways.

 

The first time Malcom had been a little more than shocked to see Matt sitting there. Even more so when he looked and saw Jessica scarfing down a muffin, her bottle of alcohol forgotten on the desk. For now. 

 

She hadn’t bothered with an introduction for them, to no one’s surprise, so Matt had stood up with his hand out. “Hey, I’m Matthew Murdock. Nice to meet you...Malcom?” He phrased it as a question, though he knew exactly who this was.

 

Malcom shook his hand with an easy friendliness, but Matthew could sense a change in him. “Ahhh, so you’re Matthew.” Before he could say more, a muffin was tossed in his direction, landing squarely against the side of his head. The force made the man take a couple of steps back before rubbing at the side of his head. The whole thing was ridiculous and Matthew couldn’t help but laugh. Malcom joined him, causing Jessica to sigh heavily at them both from behind her own treat.

 

\--

 

Things changed when she took on a case that had her chasing down a ‘real fucking jackass’ as she had put it. He was a father who had took off on his wife and two kids and was now refusing to pay the required child support. The mother was having a hard enough time work in between taking care of her children, and was doing everything she possibly could. They relied on that money and he didn’t seem to give a shit.

 

Matt had been walking up the steps to her run-down building when she had accepted the case. The woman had tried to offer money, but Jessica refused it in a no-nonsense don’t question me kind of tone. He didn’t tell her he had overheard.

 

It seemed like it would be a pretty simple case for her. She’d tackled stuff like this many times before. Rough the guy up a bit and the money was on the wife’s doorstep by the next day. Matt thought nothing of it until she showed up at his apartment smelling like blood.

 

“Don’t tell Claire.” Had been the first words out of her mouth as she shoved past him at his door. He should probably be thankful she knocked at all. Matthew shut it behind her, trying to catalogue all her injuries. She was limping to start. The leg was damaged, but there was no broken bone. Her knuckles were broken and bleeding, and there was a rip in one arm on her jacket. The same side of her face had scrapes all over, fresh blood oozing out. 

 

“What the hell happened?” He asked as the woman settled down onto his sofa. She had tracked down the Whiskey he kept for her while he was taking in her injuries and took a healthy swig from it like it was going to cure her injuries. He didn’t wait for her answer to leave the room to grab his much better stocked first aid kit. Not that Malcom didn’t do a good job with her’s, but he’d been through a hell of a lot and had Claire fill it up for him herself. It’d been quite a while since he last needed to drag it out.

 

“Some dick wasn’t deterred by my laser eyes.” She spoke at a normal volume, knowing he’d hear her all the way in the bathroom. Matthew frowned, sure he must have heard that wrong somehow. He returned back to the living room, kit in hand. “I wasn’t aware you had laser eyes. Would have been useful when we were at Midland Circle.”

 

He was sure she was giving him a dirty look, which only made him smile. Her heart rate accelerated for a moment which he accounted to one of her injuries causing her a flare up of pain. “Watch it asshole, or I’ll use them on you.”

 

It was something to note, that he hadn’t heard her call anyone but him an asshole since his return, which was in general her favourite insult. Something to dissect later when she wasn’t bleeding on his sofa.

 

Matthew ignored the empty threat, coming forward to kneel on the ground between her legs, his own knees pressed up against the edge of the leather. Her breathing stopped completely for a moment and Matt quirked his head, trying to focus and figure out why. Had he bumped something? She started up again without another word, so he dropped it and went to work.

 

He started with her injured leg, running his fingers up and prodding a bit at the muscle. She hissed above him and took a swig from her Whiskey. He had been correct - of course - nothing was broken and no torn muscles. She would have one hell of a bruise there for quite a while though.

 

Deciding that talking might distract her a bit as he poked at her injuries, he pressed forward with his earlier question. “Seriously though, laser eyes? Please tell me that’s a joke and people don’t actually fall for that. Jacket off.” He tapped his fingers on the arm with the rip, wanting to check underneath.

 

She snorted more than laughed above him but Matt was still going to count it. “People are real dumb. He technically believed me, just thought actually paying his child support was scarier than my laser eyes. Hit me a bit with his car.” Matthew stopped to look directly at her for a moment, unsure how someone could be hit ‘just a bit’ with a car. She didn’t seem to be interested in explaining.

 

Jessica had removed her jacket while speaking with only a slight hiss of pain. She followed it up by pushing her long sleeve shirt up far enough that he’d have access to whatever wound was there. He had figured it would be a bit more work to get her to agree to do it.

 

Matthew frowned as he pushed himself up a bit higher, getting level with her arm. The car explained the messed up leg and road rash on her face then. He could feel an anger coursing through him, heating his body from the inside out. Logically he knew this sort of thing had to happen to her a lot in her current line of work, but he couldn’t tame the desire to go after the man who had done this. He’d had a few close calls with his newly minted suit, almost putting it on when he heard people screaming in the night. But he was trying to be better and resisted. Now though, he was closer than ever before. It was right there in his box. He could just throw it on and go catch the bastard.

 

As he wiped the wound clean with an antiseptic wipe, he slowly calmed himself. She didn’t need a knight in shining armour and he had a feeling she wouldn’t appreciate one either. “Maybe use Danny’s Iron Fist threat next time. He thinks it’s pretty scary.”

 

That earned him as much of a laugh as she could give while in this state, which calmed his anger a bit and warmed him a different way. “God. Think he could say it anymore? I’m the Immortal Iron Fist!” She said his line a couple times, each one in a different mocking voice. Matt laughed as he finished cleaning and applied a large bandage over the cut.

 

He pushed himself all the way up now, coming face to face with her. He had never been quite this close to her and he was sure it would earn anyone else a quick kick in the crotch. Her legs remained blessedly still for him though. He did not that breathing had cut out again. “You okay?” He asked this time, pointing to have her look to the side so he had better access to the wounds. He could have moved her head himself, but he figured she’d appreciate the chance to do it for herself. She let him touch her a lot more than before, but there were still very firm boundaries in place. 

 

She shrugged as an answer and turned her head. “Just wish you’d hurry up. Can’t drink like this.” While it was technically true, he could tell that wasn’t what had stopped her breathing. He’d come to learn very quickly that she didn’t like when he called her out on her lies, so he let it be. Instead he went to work, repeating the process he used on her arm. This time there were some small bits of gravel to remove too.

 

He thought back on the night of his return when their roles had been reversed. He handled with more care than she did, but he also wasn’t furious like she had been either. Did she feel his touch the same way he had? Or was it just another set of hands too close in her personal space bubble? 

 

“Now I gotta track him down again.” She huffed, filling the silence with her complaints. “And wait till he’s not near his car! Fucking idiot. Kids are gonna starve.” She huffed, and Matthew touched her chin gently for just one second to still her face again. She whipped her head around to look at him full on for a moment - he was sure it was with a glare - before returning to her original position. Boundaries. Right.

 

Ahh, so this was the child support case. The one she had turned down payment for. Matthew had assumed she would have been able to deal with it rather quickly, but apparently her target was putting up much more of a fight than she expected. Her concern for the family was touching, and was much more than Matthew had ever seen her display before. This one was really getting to her. It pissed him off that this guy was causing her so many problems.

 

“I could help you, you know.” He said in an easy tone, pulling away from his work. He had pulled all the little bits out of the wounds and wiped away anything else with another antiseptic cloth. There wasn’t much he could do in terms of bandages on her face. The cuts were wide, but not deep. Luckily for her it wouldn’t scar much.

 

Not that she was one to care much for outward appearances. He had noticed she wore pretty much the same thing every day.

 

“What?” She turned to look at him again. Whatever she had been expecting him to say, that clearly hadn’t been it. He liked when he managed to surprise her. It was getting harder and harder the more time they spent together.

 

“I could help you track him down. Make sure he doesn’t run over you again.”

 

“What, you gonna come out in my scarf again?” She questioned, shock having melted into disbelief. “Stretched it out last time. Asshole.” That part was mumbled to herself, but she knew he could hear it.

 

He smiled, shaking his head. “No I uh..had the suit made up again. Just in case. Your scarf is safe.”

 

“And you want to help me rough up some dirtbag who’s not paying child support?”

 

Matthew shrugged and stood up, now looking down at her from where he stood, still between her legs. “Sure. It’s a good a cause as any and you’re going to be a bit stiff and sore for a while.” He paused for a moment, curious if his next reason was going too far. It might help convince her, or it might make her bolt out of the room like she did sometimes. He decided to go with it anyways. “And we work well together.” She was all force while he had a bit more grace, but it had clicked well in their fights. They were both incredibly observant too, just in different ways. 

 

And of course, they both knew when it was time to throw a punch instead of using words.

 

She was silent for a lot longer than he had expected, which he took to be a bad thing. How many times had she clearly stated that she didn’t work in teams. Sure, two was less than four, but she preferred doing things herself. It wasn’t that he assumed she needed saving or anything - far from it. She has saved him much more than he her - he just wanted her to know she didn’t have to go back out there alone if she didn’t want to. 

 

And yeah, maybe he was looking for an excuse to put the suit back on too.

 

Figuring she might need some space now, he picked up the kit and crossed the room to return it. At the doorway between his living room and bedroom, she finally spoke up. “Yeah, okay. You can help.” He smiled, turning to face her again. “Even if your weird-ass suit ruins the look I go for.”

 

\--

 

It felt good to put his suit back on after so long. Karen and Foggy weren’t going to like it, but he doubt they’d be very surprised it happened again.

 

And maybe that’s just the way things had to be now. He’d fix whatever he could between them but they’d always be a little bit strained because he couldn’t give this up. He’d tried, and failed. Jessica needed him tonight - or at least that’s what he told himself - and he was going to be there. 

 

Working with her was good. Sure she insulted the suit, along with pretty much everything else in life, but she understood his need to do this. To go out and help wherever he could. She herself felt it - just in a different way. She’d never let anyone call her a hero but he knew that she helped a lot of people before and after Midland Circle. 

 

They met up on a rooftop across from the address she had managed to track down for their target. She stood there in her usual worn in jeans, motorcycle boots and leather jacket. She had a scarf wrapped around her neck which Matt easily identified as the one he had used as a mask long ago. Honestly, he assumed she had gotten rid of it a long time ago and the comment about him wearing it had been a simple jab. But there it was, hanging off her neck. He smiled as he silently landed beside her, pleased she still had it.

 

She looked over at him and scoffed at the outfit, but otherwise made no comment about it. He wasn’t out of the woods yet though. There was plenty of time for witty one liners tonight.

 

“Any movement?” He asked, his deep ‘Daredevil’ voice on.

 

“Can’t you sense his finger twitching?” She deadpanned back. She hid it well, but he could still hear the underlay of amusement in her voice. “No. He’s been out all night.”

 

He nodded, lips twitching up at her comment.  There was no guarantee he’d even come back here, but Jessica had insisted he was dumb enough to do so. He trusted her, and it was her case after all. She’d let him join her, but he knew for a fact she wasn’t going to like him trying to direct how they did this.

 

They didn’t end up standing there for as long as he would have expected, but he still worried about the dropping temperature in Jessica’s body. She stood there stiff, arms crossed over her chest, not showing how much it was getting to her. He kept half of his attention on her, ready to suggest heading in if he saw shivering at any point.

 

Luckily for them, he was as stupid as Jessica said. He had caught the footsteps walking up to the building, but having not seen the man before he couldn’t say whether it was him or not. Jessica had though, and the ‘told you so’ vibe coming off her told him all he needed to know.

 

“Told you.” She needed to add on. He shook his head, but couldn’t help but to smile again. It was a weird juxtaposition with the devil suit. “Get him in the Alley. I’ll meet you there.”

 

Matt nodded. They had decided he would go first, getting their target away from anything too dangerous to start. Plus, he was pretty sure she just wanted Daredevil to scare the hell out of him before she dealt with him. It was her own personal form of revenge. 

 

She took off, heading back into the building while he lept down the fire escape. He moved quickly, not wanting to lose this chance. For a moment he remembered the last time he had been bounding up fire escapes with Jessica around. It had led to him smashing her camera to destroy evidence, something she reminded him often that he still owed her. 

 

“You’re so goddamned dramatic.” Was the comment she’d given him the first time they’d talked about it. “You do know photos are saved on a memory card? One that did not break just because you smashed the body the camera?”

 

Logically he did know that’s how it worked. He had just been under a lot of pressure at the time. “I was trying to make a point?” He tried, just earning him a scoff.

 

“Stupid point.” She walked away from him, mumbling, “Dramatic idiot.” again.

 

The man was walking at a leisurely pace so Matt reached him with more than enough time to drag him into the alley before his building. He kept a firm hold on the man’s collar, bringing him further and further into the darkness. He was thrashing around, but Matthew was stronger. 

 

“Hey, what the fuck, man! Let me go! Hey!” His voice raised higher and higher, which might draw some attention but not enough to be a concern. Late night yelling was nothing new in Hell’s Kitchen and as soon as someone looked down and saw Daredevil, they would be on their way. 

 

Satisfied he had dragged the man far enough down to be out of anyone's view unless they were really looking, he slammed the man up against the brick wall.

 

Unsurprisingly the man’s heart rate was going crazy and a sweat had already broken out. Matt was sure if he tried a little more he could make the man relieve himself. That could either amuse Jessica, or just tick her off more. Better to play it safe and not try. 

 

Either way, he was doing exactly what she wanted. Her target was scared.

 

“Oh shit!” The man exclaimed when he realized exactly who was manhandling him. Matt gave no visible response, his reflective eyes staring the man down. “I ain’t done nothing wrong, man. What the hell! Let me go!” Matt tightened his grip just a little bit, pleased when the man let out a small whimper.

 

“I can think of a few things.” He responded, crowding himself completely into the man’s space. “How about not sending your family the money they need? Or hitting the woman who came to collect for them with your car?” It took the guy a moment to clue into what Matt was talking about when he listed the second point, which only pissed him off more. How many people was he doing shit like this too if he couldn’t even remember it right away?

 

“What, that bitch? She wrecked my bumper man! She ain’t got nothing to do with me and them!” Matthew pulled the man away from the wall to slam him back down, knocking the wind out of him.

 

“That’s not very nice.” He growled, effectively shutting the man up.

 

“Come on man, just let me go! I’ll do whatever you want.” 

 

Before Matt could answer, a voice came from the entrance of the Alley. “How about paying that child support, jackass. Now. And on time every month going forward.” Jessica was strutting into the alley, hiding the stiffness in her leg quite well. It was going to cost her later, but Matt understood not wanting to appear weak. Especially not in front of this guy.

 

The man cursed under his breath again, clearly not pleased that Jessica had shown up to join them. His heart rate and body temperature rose again. He was frightened of her, even after his tough guy act last time. Maybe it was the laser eyes.

 

She stopped just to the left and slightly behind Matt, a smirk on her face. Clearly she was enjoying this. “Come on, Harold.” She sneered his name, mocking him with whatever she could. “I told you I’d be back if you didn’t pay up. In fact, I remember giving you a very specific warning…”

 

She trailed off and Harold honest to god full on whimpered. It clicked - the guy really did believe she had laser eyes. If Matt didn’t have a very specific image he was going for, he might have actually laughed. In fact, he was still so close.

 

“Come on man, what, you working for her now?” His attention was back on Matt, trying anything to get out of this situation. Apparently he decided he had better luck getting what he wanted from the Devil instead of from Jessica.

 

“I’m working to get people like you off my streets.” He responded, slamming him into the wall once more. Harold was going to be feeling this meeting for a long, long time. Before Harold could give another complaint, Jessica slammed her fist into the wall right next to his head. Brick, dust, and dirt crumbled down onto the man’s shoulder and a sizable hole was left behind. 

 

Matt briefly wondered what that was going to do to her already hurt knuckles.

 

“Pay. Your. Family.” Jessica growled out, clearly done with playing games. The very quick nod from Harold told Matt that he was too. False bravery could only take one so far, and Harold had reached it’s limit. “If I hear you miss one more payment then I’m not going to miss next time.” He nodded again, still too scared for words. It wasn’t a lie, Matthew could tell instantly. He was going to do exactly as instructed.

 

Matt let go of the man finally, letting him fall to the ground. He could feel the rage building up in Harold about what had happened, which was unsurprising. He took a step back, and then another, giving him some space. 

 

“And why don’t you visit your kids once in awhile. They don’t need to know what a dirtbag their father is.” Jessica added on, her hands now shoved away into the pockets of her leather jacket. That was an interesting touch that Matt hadn’t expected, but said nothing. 

 

Done with their job, Jessica turned from the man without another thought. He had agreed and that was all she cared about. She was satisfied, and a little more than pleased with how this had all gone.

 

Harold was not. Matt had sense the knife in the man’s pocket earlier, but hadn’t bothered with it because there was no way he could have gotten to it while in Matt’s hold. And he doubted a man that scared would even use it. Apparently more anger than fear had taken over. Harold lunged towards Jessica’s turned back, but Matt was quicker. He stepped in the way, causing Harold to panic. The man stumbled a bit, his aim going much lower now. The knife managed to pierce through a seam at Matt’s waist, breaking through skin. There was enough resistance to keep it from going in far enough to cause extreme concern, but Matthew still felt the pain and grunted. 

 

He removed the weapon, ready to return the attack when Jessica did it for him. She had turned around at the sound of a scuffle from Harold and him, and with two steps, was in range to kick the man square in the stomach. He flew back several feet, landing against a dumpster. A small dent was left behind in the green metal. Heartbeat still present, Matt had no fear it had killed the man. While her power was pure brute force, Jessica clearly did know how to control it when necessary. 

 

Harold was going to have a hell of alot of bruises, but he would life. As long as he kept his word and paid his family, that was.

 

“Now you really don’t want me to come back, jackass.” She warned, yelling across the alley.

 

There was more rage in her than Matt would have expected over what just happened. Anger because she hadn’t seen that coming? Because he defied her one more time? Jessica grabbed onto his arm, the one on what was now his good side, and tugged him back up the Alley. “Let’s go, Devil Boy.” He tone begged no questioning, so he didn’t. 

 

\--

 

Jessica eventually let him go, allowing him to travel back to his apartment by rooftop. It wasn’t exactly easy to be subtle walking down the sidewalk in a red devil costume. She took the streets, “Like a normal human.” as she had put it, and arrived back just a few minutes after him. He could tell from a block away that she was still angry. Her steps were all heavy stomps and she was constantly muttering to herself. Most of it was directed towards Harold, but he could hear his name slipped in quite a few times.

 

He had dropped himself down onto the sofa gently, one leg hanging off the side to rest on the floor. The wound wasn’t ridiculously deep and right now the suit was keeping enough pressure on the open would that most of the bleeding had stopped. He did remove his helmet, dropping that to the floor with a thump. He felt less confined now, even with the rest on.

 

He was going to have to get one or two stiches for sure, but he didn’t feel up to contacting Claire just yet.

 

Jessica stormed over, looking at him from up above, similar to how had had done just a couple of days ago, trying to convince her to let him join her. There had only been concern in his heart then. Her’s was filled with rage, and if he focused hard enough just a tiny bit of fear hidden behind all that. Fear of what? He didn’t get a chance to think on that before she was yelling.

 

“Are you an idiot?” She snapped, arms crossing over her chest again. “Do you have to throw yourself in front of everything? Stop being such a martyr, Matt.” That wasn’t the first time he had heard that, and he was sure it wasn’t going to be the last. 

 

“He was going right for you.” He defended. He’d feel better about this argument if he was sitting up, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. This position was relatively comfortable and moving would put strain on his wound.

 

“Then let him! I can take care of myself!” She shot back. And sure, he knew that. He hadn’t intended to make her feel like she couldn’t. There was just no way he could stand by and watch someone stab her. “Goddamn asshole. First the building. Now a stabbing. What’s next?”

 

Ahhh, and there it was. With that admission that she clearly hadn’t even intended to make, everything clicked into place. Not just her hidden fear, but so much more from the past couple of weeks since his return. Matt had to be very careful with how he proceeded here if he wanted things to go well.

 

“Jessica.” He called her name and waited for her to actually turn and look at him again. And oh, he’d give anything to see the glare he could feel directed his way. “I’m not going to leave you, Jessica. Not again. This….this is nothing.”

 

He was well aware that Jessica didn’t do emotions well. Hell, most of New York knew that so he’d have to be a real idiot to be unaware. She covered up feelings with sarcasm and insults, and hid her heart behind alcohol and work. Hell, he wasn’t the most well rounded, adjusted person when it came to emotions either. But he had to make sure she knew he wasn’t about to leave ever again. That there was no possible way he was going to go anywhere without her. 

 

He’d avoided thinking about it too much, not sure these feelings were ever going to be something she was able to return. There was no match for him like her - like two puzzle pieces coming together. They were each their own special brand of fucked up, but they both complemented each other and made things just a tiny bit better. He didn’t expect anything from her, and never would he ask for more than she could give, but he couldn’t hide it anymore. Not after hearing that.

 

All the short intakes of breath, all the heartbeat changes made so much more sense. She had worked to hide it so well, knowing his abilities. He wanted to tell her he was impressed with what she mad managed to do, but he knew that it would piss her off that he had noticed. Even still, just because she felt something like what he did, didn’t mean she was okay with sharing it. With having anything happen.

 

Jessica was uncommonly quiet, just staring at him from her spot a few paces away. He felt exposed even though he was still in his full suit. It stretched out for so long that he was sure she would leave any moment and that would be the last he would hear of her. No more breakfast visits in the morning and never would he have the chance to go out with her again on cases. The thought hurt him greatly, but he’d follow her lead no matter what.

 

Just as all hope was about to leave him Jessica let out a long huff and walked back over, the couple of steps much lighter than they had been before. She lifted his head and upper back - not as gently as she should have considering he had just been stabbed - and settled down on the sofa. And to his great surprise, she put him back down into her lap. 

 

He was utterly frozen, shocked by what had just happened. She didn’t pet at him, or shower him with any sort of affection, but she did radiate warmth and comfort. Or at least as much as she possibly could. It took him a few moments to actually process what was happening before he settled down, relaxing into her lap. 

 

Her scent engulfed him and her body warmth made him feel more relaxed than he had in ages. It wasn’t an admission of deep love, nor was it a promise there would be endless nights like this - minus the stabbing, hopefully. But it was more than he expected and enough for now. They would figure out the rest as they went. That was something they were both more than accustomed to doing.

 

It was a picture that was way too domestic for the both of them. The stab wound made it seem a bit more normal for them, at least.

 

“You have to call Claire.” She said after they were both fully settled.

 

He nodded before giving a verbal response. “I know.”

 

She seemed satisfied with that answer for now. There was more silence as she looked over him. He could feel her eyes travelling from his face all the way down to his feet, only stopping for a moment where she knew he had been stabbed. 

 

“You still look like an asshole.” She finally said, pulling a laugh from him, which faded into a grunt as it pulled at his side.

 

He reached up with one hand to brush the scarf that hung around her neck. It was a reminder of the same statement she had made what felt like years ago.

 

_ “You look like an asshole.” _

 

_ “It’s your scarf.” _

 

The stab wound would have to be dealt with, as she had said, but right now he couldn’t even feel it. Everything was her. The still healing bruise on his face throbbed more, drawing all his attention. 

 

She was an alcoholic with trust issues and he was a glutton for punishment with a hero complex.

 

It shouldn’t work. It probably wouldn’t. But he didn’t mind.

 

“Yeah, but I’m your asshole.” He finally said, in a mirror of his statement before. The pair smiled at each other and enjoyed their few moments together before they’d have to get anyone else involved.

**Author's Note:**

> I can be found on QueenOfTheLostBoys on tumblr, if you wanna chat about these jerks~~~


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